Quarantine Journals - Abbott is Texas' worst enemy

Yesterday, Gov. Abbott held a press conference and announced that he was opening Texas to 100% and ending the mask mandate. We have more active cases now than when he shut Texas down in the first place.  This was a huge blow to ANYONE who cares at all about human life. I found that I couldn't even get out of bed (nap attempt) for over an hour, then ate a long of junk food, had a drink, and was generally worthless for the rest of the day. When I woke up this morning, I thought yesterday was a week ago.  Seriously. How has it only been 24 hours?

My friend was at the grocery store about 20 minutes after he made his statement, and she was in a total panic because no one at the store was wearing a mask. She hadn't heard the news and had no idea why.

In some positive news, the president finally declared that those in the education industry needed to be prioritized for vaccinations.  They were suppose to be part of 1B for priority care, but hey, not in Texas!

Deanna got her first shot on Monday. She had to wait in a car line for over 6 hours to get it.

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"Texans have mastered the habits to keep from getting COVID," he said at a news conference in a Lubbock restaurant Tuesday before a mostly maskless crowd on Texas Independence Day."

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Health officials advised against removing masks.

"We think it's premature," Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Phil Huang told Dallas County commissioners hours before Abbott's decision to end the mask order he put in place in July. "It's still too early. We'd all love to get back to normal. [But] it's not the time to relax."

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Rep. Richard Peña Raymond wrote to Abbott on Monday and urged the governor to keep a mask mandate in place. Noting that only about 6% of Texans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Raymond warned that repealing the requirement to wear a mask would result in more coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

"To be clear, your decisions are of grave consequence," wrote Raymond, D-Laredo. "I strongly urge you not to give in, nor give up."

Dallas County Commissioners said they believe any rollback will yield mixed messages and send COVID cases soaring back up.

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While Texas' 7-day average of vaccinations is the highest it's been, the state ranks last in the country in doses administered per person, according to the CDC.

UT Southwestern says the increased compliance with social distancing, face mask wearing, hand hygiene and restricting crowds is necessary to ensure there is still enough capacity in healthcare systems, especially as the more contagious variant which was first identified in the United Kingdom is confirmed to be circulating in Texas, including Dallas.

"If any of the more highly transmissible variants become entrenched in North Texas, they could substantially change the long-term trends in our region," the report says. "Maintaining our current levels of compliance with prevention measures will help us continue the downward trajectory of cases in North Texas."

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Throughout this pandemic, science (and particularly public health) has been politicized. I don't fully understand why, but it has and was highlighted yesterday by Abbott's decision. In short, there's a battle between individual freedom and population health.

This morning a friend posted their argument for supporting Abbott's decision. Their statements are in quotations, and my epidemiological perspective follows...

1. "Greg Abbott doesn't control your life".

You're (kind of) right. As a leader he sets a precedent and tone. And the tone he is setting completely undermines scientists, doctors, nurses, and public health workers that have literally thrown themselves at this pandemic to help you. So, no he doesn't control our life, but he certainly isn't making it easier.

2. "If you don't feel comfortable not wearing a mask in public then don't; wear one".

Masks DO protect the wearer (especially an N95) but not as much as they protect the people around the wearer. So, when a masked person stands in line behind an unmasked person, they aren't fully protected (they could still get the virus). The masked person IS helping the unmasked person though (you're welcome). Masks only work best when everyone is wearing one.

3. "Don't feel comfortable sitting in a dinning room at a restaurant that is at full capacity take it Togo".

What about the servers? Or hostesses? Or cooks? Or restaurant managers? Full capacity directly impacts their risk (even if they continue to wear a mask. see #2). So, is this argument telling them to quit? Or worse, forcing them to decide between an income and health? Also, only 7.1% of the Texas population is fully vaccinated and only 1b is eligible. So even if servers wanted to fully protect themselves, they haven't had the opportunity to. In addition to restaurant workers, I'm looking at the teachers and the grocery store workers and gas station attendants (just to name a few).

4. "If you don't feel comfortable going out, things have adapted to get you what you need without leaving your house."

I don't have a scientific argument for selfishness.

5. "We are all adults we can make our own decisions that is best for us and our families. No one is stopping you from protecting yourself."

Viruses actually don't work like this. The most threatening thing right now is mutations. The more this thing jumps from person to person (yes, even if you're asymptomatic) the more opportunity it has to mutate. The more it mutates, the more likely the virus can outsmart our vaccines. So, yes, we can make our own decisions. But your decision to let the virus jump from person to person actually does "stop us from protecting ourselves".

Bottom line: The virus couldn't care less of this individualistic approach. In fact, it gives the virus an advantage. In order to successfully combat an infectious disease, we all have to be on the same team.

Some colleagues of mine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that Dallas could reach local herd immunity by June. I have no reason to believe that Dallas is different than any other city or town in Texas. WE ARE/WERE SO CLOSE. But we are tripping before the finish line. This decision likely pushes the end date further.

Love, YLE